Honduran Woman Fleeing Violence Takes Sanctuary At Chapel Hill Church

Chapel Hill, NC – This past weekend (April 14-15), Greensboro resident Rosa del Carmen Ortez-Cruz took sanctuary at the Church of Reconciliation in Chapel Hill, also the meeting site of the Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship. The two congregations have partnered together to offer Rosa sanctuary from deportation. She is the sixth person currently in public church sanctuary in North Carolina. North Carolina has the most active congregational sanctuary cases of any state.      

Rosa – along with supporters and members of the two congregations – held a press conference on April 17th to announce both her presence in sanctuary and the launch of the sanctuary coalition effort across the state of North Carolina.

Reverend Mark Davidson, pastor of Church of Reconciliation (Presbyterian Church USA), announced the partnership with Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship (Mennonite Church USA) in offering sanctuary. “This is an act of conscience and resistance, to protect Rosa from the very real threat of deportation,” he said. “Our Christian faith calls us to welcome the stranger and to offer hospitality to those in need as if we are offering it to Christ.”

“I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be far from my children.” said Rosa del Carmen Ortez-Cruz. “But I have no choice because going back to Honduras is not an option. If I go there, it could mean the end of my life. He said ‘if you won’t be with me, you won’t be with anyone.'” 

Rosa came to the U.S. from Honduras in 2002, fleeing extreme domestic violence – she was stabbed multiple times by a former partner, spending over a month in the hospital at age 19. She is the mother of four children, three of whom are U.S. citizens. Not only is Honduras one of the most dangerous countries in the world, but Rosa cannot return for fear that her abuser will hurt or kill her. Despite the fact that immigration courts recognized that Rosa fled Honduras to save her life, the courts ultimately denied her case, effectively sentencing her to death.

Rosa’s supporters are calling on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to allow her to stay in the United States, where she can live safely, and for members of Congress to use their influence to pressure ICE to keep her safe. “We’re calling for action from our elected officials but we also know we cannot sit by and wait for politicians to act while unjust immigration policies tear apart our communities,” said Lori Fernald Khamala, director of the American Friends Service Committee’s NC Immigrant Rights Program. “That’s why we are also calling on churches and other places of worship throughout the state to join us in pledging to offer sanctuary to all who need it.”

This action by Church of Reconciliation and Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship is part of a growing number of places of worship throughout the state that have vowed to offer sanctuary, and the North Carolina Sanctuary Coalition hopes many more will follow suit.

“Our faith is nothing if we do not actively practice solidarity with those who are being denied justice,” said Xaris A. Martínez, a member of Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship. “We commit to accompany Rosa and hope that other congregations in our state and throughout the nation will consider opening their doors and hearts to those most at risk in their communities.”